Raindrops & Price Reductions Notwithstanding the news headlines, not every home is selling in multiple offers the first day on the market. In fact, precisely because of those headlines, I’m seeing more Sellers insist on too-high initial asking prices. When a home isn’t selling — or even getting showings — standard operating procedure is to...Read More
Buyer Strategy in a Seller’s Market “Never negotiate hungry. Or tired.” –Ross Kaplan, “Negotiating Advice” (12/7/2010) As I’ve discussed on this blog previously, the “How” of negotiating can be much less important than the “When” or “Where.” As in, “when to stop negotiating (and take a break),” and “never negotiate while driving” (you can’t take...Read More
Non-Listed Listed Homes One of the side effects of a seller’s market is more homeowners who believe that they can sell their home without a Realtor (called “For Sale by Owner,” or “FSBO”). Here’s another: homes putatively listed by a Realtor, but nowhere to be found on MLS (Multiple Listing Service, the repository for all...Read More
Chasing a Rising Market Many stock market observers believe that one of the key ingredients fueling recent record highs is something called “short covering” (note: I’m one of them). Whereas investors who “buy long” make money when stocks go up, short sellers profit when stocks fall (technically, they borrow stock to sell when they believe...Read More
Most Popular Blog Post: ‘Statutory Cancellation for Beginners’ When it comes to Web popularity, “going viral,” etc., there is certainly a virtuous circle phenomenon at work. Namely, the more people read a post, the higher-ranked (and more visible) it becomes, which in turn assures even more hits. That said, the most popular post on this...Read More
Diagnosis: Bad Marketing or Bad Price (Pick One) Even in a Seller’s market (psst! we’re officially in one), not every home sells. When that’s the case, what is going on? In my experience, one of two things: If the home isn’t getting showings, the problem is marketing. The property photos are a turn-off (assuming there...Read More
